Mobile Veterinary Clinics in Thailand

Our mission for the forgotten animals

More than ten years after the devastating tsunami hit Thailand thanks to untiring reconstruction efforts most has been rebuilt. The beaches of Koh Lanta show brilliant white sand, the water sparkles in shades of turquoise. Very few people are aware that after the reconstruction was completed and the building workers departed they often left their watch dogs behind and abandoned them. Together with the local organisation Lanta Animal Welfare (LAW) our organisation, Welttierschutzgesellschaft (WTG), helps suffering strays.

The dogs who were left behind quickly reproduced and with their numbers increasing
enormously the fight for food started and diseases and parasites spread. To this new
problem an old one added: the many stray cats on Koh Lanta. Many locals felt very annoyed by the growing numbers of stray animals. And some very cruel methods to control the overpopulation were used like fishing hooks hidden in bits of food, animals scorched with hot oil, cutting with knives as well as shooting, drowning or poisoning.

HELPING WITH MOBILE CLINICS

Together with our partner organisation Lanta Animal Welfare (LAW) we help thousands of suffering
dogs and cats on Koh Lanta and on the neighbouring islands. Because of insufficient or even
completely lacking medical care – sometimes the next veterinary surgeon lives hours away
by car and by ferry – we hold mobile clinics on a regular basis. Experienced vets and veterinary
assistants travel with all their equipment for surgery by ship from island to island. They put
up castration and vaccination camps for several days and treat ill and injured animals. The
treatment rooms and operating theatres are built up on site.
According to the “catch and release” method the animals are caught, receive medical
treatment, are castrated, vaccinated against rabies and other diseases, they are marked and afterwards released again. Only animals which have been badly injured and/or are too weak to have chances to survive on their own, remain in the care of our partner organisation. In the Animal
Sterilization Center, which is the only stationary veterinary centre on Koh Lanta, they get
veterinary care and can be adopted by animal loving families once they have
recovered. It is our aim, not only to heal the suffering of mistreated and injured animals but
to prevent such mistreatment by fighting overpopulation with humane and sustainable
measures.

AWARNESS AND EDUCATION LEAD TO SUSTAINABLE SUCCESSES

The news of mobile clinics arriving quickly spreads in the villages and are
an experience for old and young. As it is of major importance, to include the population in
our programme, in addition to the mobile clinics educational courses are held in schools
and in community centres: Only by education and awareness raising of the local population
there will be hope for a peaceful co-existence of humans and animals. Since we started our work a more tolerant attitude towards animals has already been noticed. The notion is proved
by the fact, that more and more locals bring injured or sick stray dogs and cats for treatment
to the Centre.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

Within the last few years thanks to the mobile clinics huge successes have been made. On Koh
Lanta 90% of the stray population have been castrated and so the chance that two unneutered animals meet and produce offspring has been greatly diminished. And on the
neighbouring islands our team tirelessly keeps on working in order to help as many dogs and
cats as possible. Only when the following generations have been vaccinated and castrated,
too, the population of strays will be controlled on the long term and further animal suffering
can be avoided.

Please help us to treat with our mobile clinics thousands of dogs and cats so that we can give them a future free from suffering.